Vietnam – my street food diaries

Probably the thing I liked best about visiting Vietnam was the food, and in particular the street food.

I basically made it my mission to only eat from the street vendors and not to go to restaurants. This was in an attempt to find the real food of the country and not the glorified ‘made for westerners’ fayre. I also thought it might be a neat way to get chatting to locals and experience how life is for your average Joe. Oh, and dare I mention, if you are travelling on a budget this is also the answer to your dreams, as most meals coming in at around £1.

So, after reading this excellent post by Jodi Ettenburg at Legal Nomads, I set off to try my first street food Pho, excited and intrigued to meet ‘Prison Granny’

I should probably also point out here that I did not stick to a plant based, vegetarian diet for this trip, opting to go local style.

I’m sure there are a plethora of good vegetarian, even vegan options in the country but it is not traditional Vietnamese and I wanted to try authentic dishes as previously highlighted.

My search for Prison Granny ended in vain – I was definitely on the right alleyway (or ‘Bis’ in Vietnamese) but I could not spot any Pho joints. So I employed my own tactic, which I like to call ‘follow the local/office workers’ – in Ho Chi Minh this worked a treat as I stalked young office folk on their lunch breaks and basically just ate wherever they did!

My first point and smile meal was braised beef and carrots, morning glory, rice (the ‘com’ part of the dish) and a morning glory watery soup.

I also found two very good food courts, a little more on the tourist trail but full of enough locals to keep me happy, these I felt more comfortable visiting at nighttime as a single female traveller rather than ducking down dimly lit alleys.

My first Pho was pretty good, and light on the beef. I love that you add your own herbs and spices to taste

Crab Canh Bun (I think!) This was a perfect mix of sweet and sour – delicious and one of my favourite dishes of the trip

The best part about my follow the local trick was I had pretty much no idea what the things I ate were called – it was a case of point and smile, the places I have learnt since are called ‘Com Ta’ which is basically a buffet of plates you choose what you like and get given a humongous portion of rice to accompany as well as a watery soup and sometimes fruit and cold tea.

I also tried my fair share of Pho, and other noodle dishes, and of course the obligatory fresh rolls (which varied in flavour and freshness from place to place)

This lady was very popular so although I had no idea what this was I ordered one anyway, it was a sweet puffed rice pancake with treacle and coconut lathered inside. Too sweet for me but I like to take a chance from time to time!

In Hoi An I discovered the wonderful dish ‘Cao Lau’ the melt in your mouth White Roses, Shrimp pancake rolls, and of course plenty of lovely tea and coffee cafes.

The delectable White Roses, my favourite dish of the trip….‘banh vac’ is a dumpling stuffed with shrimp and spices and then steamed in a shrimp broth. The resulting taste is delicate and just a little bit sweet, the dumplings are topped with fried onions giving it a little crunch and saltiness

Drinking Tea and Coffee (mainly iced) were some of my favourite things to do. Just sitting in a cafe, reading, cooling off and watching the world go by: this is what ‘travelling’ is all about for me, which, ironically, is the most static of activities!

A break from the heat with a Passion Fruit Ice Tea

Cold Brew Coffee, Hoi An Roastery

Stopping for a cuppa – the beautifully presented Oolong Tea at the wonderful Reaching Out Tea Rooms in Hoi An.

I hope this has inspired you to travel to this wonderful country. I would love to hear back from you on your food travels, in Vietnam or anywhere else in the world. Please leave me a comment with your favourite places to eat and drink.